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Information
having followed from our French associates was: «Despite favorable
weather forecast given out, early in the morning (around
6 a.m. by the
local time) in Fayence airfield (Southern France, eastwards of Marseilles)
wind has suddenly grown up to 100 km/h with recorded gusts up to 150 km/h.
Under some gust like that airship was put almost vertically and pulled out
its mooring mast and all belonged anchor stays out of the soil. Airship was
keeping on uncontrolled motion, was caught in driving by cars and finally
torn into a house. No one was injured. Airship has gained serious damages».
AU-30 airship of
the largest type in Russia is an outcome of our painstaking work over the
last four years. The aircraft was equipped with all cutting-edge
radio-navigation equipment and tooled up for polar latitudes operations and
steady to strong breeze. AU-30 was designed and manufactured according to
Russian and international Airship Airworthiness Requirements providing that
the airship mooring devices must stand gusts up to 130 km/h. Unfortunately,
natural disasters do not know their limits.
Successful
operations of two other airships of the indicated type in Russia display
excellent AU-30’s performance characteristics. And two-month operations in
France were given as an approval of full availability for participation in
polar expedition.
Nevertheless,
besides strong gusts, some other causes could have called for the accident.
According to the information we owe, at the day of disaster some
unauthorized devices were used in place of our manufactured and delivered
mooring mast featuring anchor stays. Utilized devices were those lightened
for installation over the ice surface and a meant to be of obscure origin
and structure unknown to us.
We do not appeal
to prejudice Jean-Louis Etienne’s team professionalism, however we are in
option that the closer relation of expedition managing team to their main
vehicle – the airship – manufacturing company would have been to good of
all.
Henceforth and
surely at present we are ready to cooperate with Jean-Louis Etienne on the
subject of the expedition recovery and provide any possible way out of the
existing situation. We hope the factor to bring relief is far investigation
that will be arranged and involve French aviation authorities, airship
operator and manufacturer.
This
investigation is so far urgent in view of the fact that airship anchorage to
mooring mast under adverse weather conditions has become a real scourge
amongst modern airships. Just only a few months before, and under conditions
similar to the accident in Fayence, the world’s largest airship Zeppelin-NT
was finally wrecked in Botswana.
Other examples
are available to give: in the USA and Europe. That should mean a serious
cause of action for manufacturers to advise aviation authorities would
rather make corrections within the corresponding airship requirements and
change their attendance to operators actions. |
